Read (option) all about it: Efficient Kaepernick seals win with 50-yard run

A week after a read-option call went horrible awry in an overtime loss to the Rams, the 49ers used a tamer version of the play to seal a 27-13 win over the Dolphins on Sunday at Candlestick Park.

Clinging to a seven-point lead with less than three minutes left, quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a shotgun snap from the Pistol formation, faked a handoff to running back Frank Gore and dashed, untouched, 50 yards around left end for a that-will-do-it touchdown.

A week earlier, Kaepernick’s airmailed read-option pitch resulted in a St. Louis touchdown and barrage of criticism for offensive coordinator Greg Roman. But that mistake hardly deterred San Francisco on Sunday. With the game in the balance, Roman dialed up a series of read options.

“It was a totally different play, but a similar concept,” left tackle Joe Staley said. “We actually ran that play three times in a row. The final one, we stuck with it, we got the right look. We got what we needed and Kap took it to the house.”

Asked about the play, Jim Harbaugh began by praising his scrutinized assistant: “Yeah,” he said, “great call by Greg.”

Kaepernick’s dash provided a bit of flash, but the grind-it-out victory had all the elements of a 49ers’ win circa 2011 under the direction of supplanted quarterback Alex Smith.

The defense limited to Miami to 227 yards, special teams ace C.J. Spillman recovered a muffed punt that led to a nine-yard touchdown drive and Kaepernick was coolly efficient. In his fourth career start, he completed 78 percent of his passes (18 of 23) for 185 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked four times and completed just one pass of more than 20 yards.

Sound familiar?

So is this: “I thought he managed the game well,” Harbaugh said.

With the 49ers leading 13-6 late in the third quarter it was actually Gore that highlighted their most impressive drive, a 13-play, 83-yard march capped by Anthony Dixon’s one-yard run with 14:30 left. Dixon’s plunge was preceded by Gore’s 19-yard run up the middle.

Earlier in the drive, on 2nd-and-20 at San Francisco’s 43, Gore caught a short pass in the left flat from Kaepernick and began zig-zagging through defenders en route to a 19-yard gain that featured five broken tackles. After he was finally brought down, several 49ers were jumping exuberantly on the sideline and right guard Alex Boone was apologizing for being the man to finally flatten Gore.

After the game, Gore, smiling, said Boone also put him on the ground against the Seahawks and Vikings.

“Frank can break any tackle,” Staley said. “But he can’t break a tackle by Boone.”

After a San Francisco three-and-out, the Dolphins regained possession and quickly had a first down at the 49ers’ 35-yard line. Against a 5-7 team, memories of last week’s upset overtime loss in St. Louis were being unearthed for the 49ers.

“It doesn’t matter who we play,” safety Donte Whitner said. “We’re getting everybody’s best effort each and every Sunday and they use us to measure themselves. St. Louis did the same thing.”

On Sunday, though, the defense stiffened with Miami driving for the potential game-tying score. Tannehill threw four straight incompletions from the San Francisco’s 35 to turn the ball over on downs and set up Kaepernick’s game-sealing touchdown that began with a fake to Gore.

“Kap made a big play,” Gore said. “He read it real good. Everyone came to me and Mr. Everything did his thing.”

Actually, on Sunday, Kaepernick didn’t do it all, but he did enough to win.